| Description |
Translation (Rita Seng Mai & Keita Kurabe)
This story is titled "The Hunter Who Obtained the Spirit's Gong." Once upon a time, there was a hunter. One day, despite hunting all day, he caught no game. However, he found a turtle and a snuff box sea bean and carried them home. But, dusk fell and he couldn't reach his village. He found an abandoned house on the way and decided to spend the night there. Frightened, he chose to sleep on the hearth's upper rack. While he was sleeping, at night, spirits came to perform the death dance. When they arrived, smelling the presence of a human, they said to each other, "Hmm, I smell 'hairless meat' here." "I get the smell of a human." They said to each other. Hearing the spirits talk like this, the hunter became even more terrified. The death dance is a religious dance kept up almost every evening in the house of the deceased until the spirit is sent off to the land of the ancestors. When someone dies, surrounding the deceased's home, people dance while striking three gongs. Some spirits looked for the human, but many continued the death dance. While dancing, they spoke to each other. "What are you afraid of?" "I am afraid of thunder!" "What are you afraid of?" "I am afraid of thunder!" They continued dancing while saying so. Then, the hunter became very scared and couldn't do anything. Because his bean was dried it made a sound like "Hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk." Then, the spirits said, "Ah! Thunder has started to rumble!" they said. But the spirits continued to dance. When the hunter made the sound again, the spirits said, "Thunder is rumbling!" again. Finally, terrified, the hunter threw the turtle onto the place where the spirits were dancing. When he threw it, the turtle fell among the dancing spirits making a "Hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk" sound. The spirits said, "Hey! Thunder has struck!" and all ran away. As they fled, they dropped all their belongings, including gongs, necklaces, and bracelets. When dawn broke the next morning, the hunter collected the valuable items left by the spirits and returned home. Seeing the valuable things he brought back, his fellow hunter was envious and asked, "Where did you get these?" Then, the hunter openly shared everything about his unsuccessful hunt, finding the turtle and the bean, encountering the spirits in the abandoned house, and collecting the items the spirits had left. He told everything. Hearing this, his fellow hunter, without spending his day hunting, looked for and collected only a turtle and a bean and did exactly as told, sleeping on the hearth's rack in the abandoned house. As dusk fell, the spirits came again that night and danced the death dance. "Hmm, I smell 'hairless meat' here," they said. As they continued to dance, the man tried to make a sound with his bean. But, since it was not dried and was filled with seeds, it made no sound. Hearing the human's movements, intending to catch and eat him, the spirits looked up to the rack where the man was. Terrified, the man threw the turtle he was holding, but it hit the edge of the hearth and died. Then, the spirits said, "Ah, this is not the sound of thunder!" They climbed up to the hearth, bit the man, and ate him. So we shouldn't be greedy over the things that other people own. We shouldn't be jealous over them.
Transcription (La Ring)
Ya hkai dan na maumwi gaw "Nat A Bau Lu La Ai Jaugawng A Lam" nga ai re. Moi shawng de jaugawng langai mi nga ai da. Dai jaugawng wa gaw, lani mi na aten hta, shani tup shan gyam hkawm ti mung hpa shan mung n lu gap ai da. Rai tim, shi shan gyam sa ai lam kaw tauku langai hte shamyen ningga langai lu hta la nna dai hpai let nta de wa ai da. Rai tim, nsin grai sin mat ai hte nta mare de n du wa lu sai majaw, lam kaw na masha n nga sai hte tawn kau da ai nta, nta hpungkraw langai mu ai hte dai kaw wa shang yup ai da. Shi gaw hkrit ai majaw, dai nta hpung kraw a garap lupding ngu ai garap ntsa kaw wa yup ai da. Dai hku rai nna shi yup nga yang she, shana jan du yang, dai nta kaw nat ni lep ni wa she kabung sa dum ai da. Dai zawn nat ni kabung sa dum ai shaloi gaw, dai nat ni gaw dai nta kaw shinggyim masha nga taw ai hpe sama na ai hte nat ni shada da she "Umm ndai kaw mun n tu ai shan bat manam nga ai." "Shinggyim masha bat manam nga ai," ngu nna tsun hkat ma ai da. Dai zawn nat ni kabung wa dum nna shada da shaga hkat ai hpe na ai shaloi gaw dai jaugawng wa gaw grau hkrit wa sai da. Kabung dum ai ngu gaw si ai shaloi sha dum mai ai baw re. Masha si ai shaloi dai masha si ai nta hpe shinggrup nna bau masum hte dum let ka manawt ai laka langai mi re. Nat nkau mi gaw mun n tu shan hkan tam mayu ai rai tim, law malawng gaw matut nna sha kabung dum mayu ai hte matut nna kabung dum let she langai hte langai gaw "Nang gaw hpa mi hkrit!" "Mu hkyi din tarin hkrit!" "Nang gaw hpa mi hkrit!" "Mu hkyi din tarin hkrit!" ngu nna tsun let she ka manawt taw ai da. Dai shaloi wora jaugawng wa gaw hkrit gaw hkrit let she hpa mung n chye galaw nna, shi na shamyen gaw hkraw taw ai re majaw, "Hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk, Hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk" ngu di dat ai da. Dai hku di dat ai shaloi nat ni gaw "Yi!! Mu hkyi din tarin ngoi wa ra ai lo," ngu tsun ma ai da. Tim, nat ni gaw dai hku sha matut nna ka manawt, jaugawng wa mung "Hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk!" ngu dat, nat ni mung "Dai lu, Mu hkyi tin tarin ngoi wa ra ai lu," ngu bai tsun let, hpang jahtum gaw jaugawng wa mung grai hkrit wa ai hte she shi rim wa ai tauku hpe, dai nat ni ka taw ai shara de jahkrat bang dat ai da. Dai zawn jahkrat dat yang, tauku gaw nat ni ka nga ai lapran kaw she "Hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk hkrawk" ngu hkrat bang mat wa ai shaloi gaw, nat ni gaw "E.... Mu hkyi din tarin hkrat wa sai lo!" ngu nna she nat ni yawng hprawng mat wa ai da. Dai zawn hprawng mat wa ai shaloi gaw, nat ni gaw shanhte gun sa ai, hpun sa ai, gali sa ai, bau ni, kachyi ni, lahkawn ni yawng jahkrat kau da ai da. Hpang jahpawt nhtoi htoi yang she dai jaugawng mung nat ni jahkrat kau da ai rai ni bau ni kachyi ni lahkawn ni hta la nna nta de wa ai da. Shi dai zawn manu dan ai bau ni, kachyi ni, lahkawn ni gun wa ai hpe dai mare na manang mukhkyu langai mi mung manawn ai hte "Gara hku lu wa ai rai?" ngu san ai da. Dai shaloi dai jaugawng wa mung, shi shan gyam sa ai kaw shan n lu tam ai hte tauku hte shamyen ningga hpe hta la wa ai lam nta hpung kraw kaw nat ni hte hkrum ai lam hte nat ni ngam kau da ai hpe hta wa ai re lam hpe hpa n makoi n magap ai sha byin ai lam yawng hpe tsun dan dat ai da. Dai hpe madat la nna she, wora la wa mung shani tup shan gaw n gyam sa ai sha taukawk langai hte samyen ningga sha tam la nna hta la nna she wora jaugawng wa tsun ai hte maren, nta hpungkraw a garap lupding kaw wa yup taw sai da. Shana du yang dai shana mung nat ni bai sa wa nna she kabung wa dum taw sai da. "Um... mun n tu ai shan bat manam ai," ngu sai da. Tim, matut nna ka taw ai shaloi gaw wora la wa mung shi la wa ai shamyen hpe she shangoi dat ai da. Dai shaloi shi na shamyen gaw n hkraw ai majaw, shi na shamyen tum ni gaw chyat taw nna hpa mung n ngoi wa ai da. Wora nat ni gaw dai zawn shinggyim masha loi shamu shamawt re ai na nna rim sha na matu dai la wa nga taw ai garap lupding ntsa de mada wa sai da. Dai la wa mung grai hkrit wa ai hte shi na tauku hpe bai jahkrat dat ai ngu yang dai tauku gaw garap matu rap dawng kaw "Hpat!" rai wa hkra nna si mat sai da. Dai shaloi nat ni gaw "Aw... ndai wa gaw hpa mu hkyi din tarin mung n re ai she rai nga..." ngu nna garap lupding de lung wa nna dai la wa hpe kawa sha kau ai da. Dai majaw manang wa lu shagu tinang sharawng n mai ai. Manang wa hpe n mai manawn ai da. |
